Some things just naturally go together! Salt and pepper, bread and butter, bacon and eggs, fish and chips, Del boy and Rodney and of course, betting and horses! Since the earliest recorded civilisations, man has had a love affair with horse racing and whenever competition occurs, it’s a safe bet (pun intended) that there will gambling on the result.
If you are new to betting online for horse racing, then some of the common terms and expressions used can be pretty daunting and difficult to understand! However, don’t worry as the purpose of this guide is to give you an insight into the different bet options available to you when using an online betting site.
Types of Horse Racing Bets
The racing world is full of exotic sounding bets, from Yankees to Goliaths, it can seem like a different language with you are new to betting on horses. One thing I really love about betting online is that you don’t have that awkward feeling when in a bookmaker’s shop nor do you have to deal with any daunting sales assistants. You can do everything in the privacy of your own house and once you have read our guide, we’ll soon have you betting like a pro!
So let’s start with some basics.
Early Prices and Starting Prices
The betting world has altered drastically over the last 20 years and it seems that the only constant is change within sports betting! The really good news is that these changes bring more interaction, more ways to views the races and perhaps most importantly for an aspiring bettor is the introduction of some great promotions and offers. The first one we will look at is Best Odds Guaranteed or BOG as it is affectionately known.
All the top online betting sites will offer early prices on the race meetings for the next day, this is usually early to late afternoon on the day before the meet. I personally have been in the situation more than a few times in which I will back a horse only to see it’s odds lengthen quite substantially the next day. In the bad old days at a high street bookmaker, it really was a case of tough luck! However, by taking advantage of Best Odds Guaranteed, you can bet with confidence knowing that if the starting price of your selection is higher than the price you took then the bookmaker will pay out at the higher amount. There are some markets that are excluded such as Ante-post betting but we will discuss that in further detail later on in this article.
Fractions or Decimals
We are pretty used to seeing odds displayed as fractions in the UK, it’s usually something we see every day in the windows of betting shops. Many of our Europeans cousins are more likely to use odds expressed as decimals. It is easy to convert a fraction to a decimal (with a calculator), simply divide the first number in the fraction by the second number and this will give you the decimal equivalent.
| Fraction | How to calculate | Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| 100/1 | 100 divided by 1 | 100 |
| 3/4 | 3 divided 4 | .75 |
| 2/9 | 2 divided by 9 | .22 |
| 19/10 | 19 divided by 10 | 1.9 |
If this sounds a bit too much like hard work, there is an easy way when betting online, every sportsbook we have ever used allows you to change with one click if fractions or decimals should be displayed. Personally I don’t think it makes that much difference as the betting slip will inform you of the potential returns when you complete it so it is a personal preference which you prefer.
Online Betting: Betting to Win
The easiest by far bet is the straightforward ‘To Win’ bet, you may hear commentators and tipsters on TV call this ‘on the nose’. In this bet you are simply saying “this horse will win”. You place your stake, if the horse wins you will receive the odds given (unless Best Odds Guaranteed comes into play). It is worth noting that you also receive your stake back as part of the settlement.
In the above picture you can see the odds displayed at a recent race in Sedgefield. This is a typical race card and it displays a lot of information about the race but also the runners in the race. On the far right hand side you can see the odds that are currently being offered for these horses.
In this example, let’s see what a £10 stake would return on each of the horses. We have included the stake return in the winnings.
| Horse Name | Odds Offered | Return on £10 |
|---|---|---|
| Mixboy | 11/4 | £37.50 |
| Prince Khurram | 5/1 | £60 |
| Baraboy | 33/1 | £340 |
| Chain Of Beacons | 20/1 | £210 |
| Closest Friend | 2/1 | £30 |
| Court Painter | 80/1 | £810 |
| Major Ivan | 3/1 | £40 |
| Quick Brew | 14/1 | £150 |
| S For Estuary | 100/1 | £1010 |
If you are new to seeing betting odds, the easiest way to think of them is “If I put the number on the right of the fraction, I will get the number on the left back, plus my stake added on”. If we take Mixboy’s odds, if I place £4 on and he wins, I receive £11 plus my stake of £4 back for a total of £15.
Online Betting: Each-way Bet
After a single bet, the most popular bet is the each-way bet. An each-way bet is in effect two bets rolled into one. Half of the bet is placed on the win and the other half is on the ‘place’ aspect of the bet.
You will receive a payout if the horse either wins and/or the horse is in the place criteria of the race. The place criteria is based on the amount of runners and is usually as follows;
- 5-7 runners pays out on first and second place at ¼ odds
- 8 or more runners pays out on first, second and third place at ¼ oddsIn handicap races you will also find the following places;
- 12-15 runners pays out on first, second and third place at ¼ odds
- 16 runners or more pays out on the first four places at ¼ odds
This may sound complicated but if you consider this example;
I place a £10 each way bet on a horse called Benzo Fury, the total cost of this bet is £20. To make things simple let’s suppose that Benzo’s odds at 10/1. We will also imagine that in this race that there are 8 runners. There are three possibilities to consider shown in the table below.
| Finishing position | Any winnings? | Amount won |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Yes – both win at 10/1 and place at 2.5 /1 | £125 & £20 stake |
| 2nd or 3rd | Yes – The place part at 2.5/1 | £25 and £10 place stake returned |
| 4th or lower | No | £0 |
As we mentioned earlier as the each-way bet is two bets, if the horse finishes in a place position but is not the winner, you will receive the stake back on the place element but not the win aspect of the bet.
Sometimes in big events such as the Grand National and Glorious Goodwood, the online sports bookmaker may increase the number of places that are paid out for the place part of the each-way bet.
Hints and Tips for Win and Each-way Betting
Remember that when you lay a place bet the odds are reduced by at least a quarter, this means that you need odds of at least 4/1 to make an each-way bet viable. Anything less than this will not be enough to cover the win portion of the bet.
If you think that each-way betting sounds good for you then I would be tempted to bet on races that are non-handicapped and look for races with 8-12 runners. Theoretically in non-handicapped races, each horse has a chance of winning but in a handicapped race, in reality only a couple of these runners has a realistic chance of winning.
Ante-Post Betting – Pros and Cons
Before we move on to looking in more detail about the different bets apart from win and each-way bets you can make, it is worth spending a little time discussing what ante-post betting is and why people do it.
Ante-post betting is also called futures betting and this involves placing a bet in advance of the final declaration of the runners involved. This can be weeks or even months of the race taking place.
In a normal meeting if a horse is pulled out of a race before coming under starters orders then the bet will be void and the stake returned. In ante-post betting you do not have that protection, if a horse doesn’t run then the bet is settled as lost.
You may be reading this and thinking “why would anyone ever take that risk?”, one of the main reasons is that the prices are often greatly higher than you would receive closer to the event. It is worth mentioning that you don’t have to bet months in advance, many online bookies will offer good prices early in the week for Saturday. You probably won’t get as generous odds but there is less chance of the horse being a non-runner.
Forecast Betting on Horse Racing
So far we have looked at single betting and each-way betting, a potentially more lucrative market but also one that is harder to predict is forecast betting. In forecast betting you are predicting in which order your selections will finish the race. Some forecast bets such as Quinella are flexible in the fact that your horses can finish 1st or 2nd in any order, whereas the Exacta bet as its name suggests requires you to pick the correct order of winners.
To show how big the pay-outs can be, in 2005, Giacomo who was a 50-1 shot beat another outsider Closing argument to return a massive $133.134 (£102,188) for a $2 (£1.53) exacta wager.
It is important to be realistic when forecasting betting, it is incredibly unlikely that you will constantly pick out winners! It is even more unlikely that you will pick out the top 2 or 3 horses in a race with any sort of regularity. Many experienced tipsters use forecast betting to supplement their single bets. But don’t let our words of caution put you off! Dream big, people can and have won life changing amounts on gut feeling, it might be your turn.
| Finishing position | Any winnings? | Amount won |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Yes – both win at 10/1 and place at 2.5 /1 | £125 & £20 stake |
| 2nd or 3rd | Yes – The place part at 2.5/1 | £25 and £10 place stake returned |
| 4th or lower | No | £0 |
Multiple Bets on Horseracing
So far the bets we have discussed will be laid in one race, it becomes even more exciting when you combine horses from different races to create multiple bets. Again, like the forecast betting, this can be financially very rewarding.
Double – for this bet you select 2 horses and both have to win for you to receive a return on your wager. The winnings on the first race go onto the second runner.
Treble – for this bet you select 3 horses and all have to win for you to receive a return on your wager. The winnings on the first race go onto the second runner and the winnings from that go onto the third.
Trixie – A Trixie is 4 bets on 3 horses and consists of 3 doubles and 1 treble. You need 2 of your horses to win to see a return. You will receive more winnings of course if all 3 horses win. As this is a more forgiving bet that the treble, the Trixie is a popular bet for newcomers.
Patent – This is the same bet as a Trixie but also includes 3 single bets so only one winner is needed to see a return. This contains 7 bets in total, therefore a £1 patent will cost you £7. Yankee – A Yankee is a bet on 4 horses and includes 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 accumulator. This consists of 11 bets and you need 2 horses to win to see a return.
Lucky 15 – Same as the Yankee but with the addition of 4 single bets. As the name suggests this contains 15 bets. You will very often see the best online sportsbooks offering very generous incentives such as doubling the prize if all selections are successful.
Super Yankee – You may also hear this bet referred to as a Canadian and this involves 5 horses. The bet consists of 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-way bets and 1 5 horse accumulator. In total this equals 26 bets in total.
Lucky 31 – The big brother of the Lucky 15 bet, covering 5 horses and consists of 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-way bets and 1 5 horse accumulator but also the addition of 5 single bets. As with the Luck 15 you will likely find bonuses added for successful bets.
Heinz – You can’t see the word Heinz without thinking of baked beans and the 57 varieties that is proudly displayed on their tins! The Heinz covers of course 57 bets and combines six horses in 57 bets: 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds and 1 accumulator. You need to select at least 2 winners to see a return.
Lucky 63 – The Lucky 63 combines six horses in 63 bets: 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds,1 accumulator and 6 singles. As you will probably have guessed by now, the Lucky 63 will attract bonuses if all selections win.
Super Heinz – This 7 horse spread covers every combination possible with 120 bets. A minimum of 2 winners is required to see a return. 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 four-folds, 21 five-folds, 7 six-folds and 1 accumulator.
Goliath – If bigger is better than you don’t get much bigger than the Goliath! A huge 247 bets that include 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 four-folds, 56 five-folds, 28 six-folds, 8 seven-folds and an accumulator. As with the Super Heinz, a minimum of 2 winners is required to see a return.
The list of multiple bets we have compiled here is in no means comprehensive, many online bookmakers will add their own twist on an existing multiple bet or they may create something new altogether. However, this should at least give you an insight and hopefully you will see a bet you want to try.
You may think you need to bet big to win big but as one lucky Englishman found out in 2013, even betting with pennies can be profitable. He staked just over £15, placing a series of accumulator bets and it was this tactic that netted him nearly £210,000.
Special / Unique Bets
All the top online sports betting sites offer some great promotions to ensure your betting experience is an engaging one. As promotions do tend to change very regularly, it’s almost impossible to bring you a full breakdown but here are some that have entertained us recently.
BOG – We mentioned Best Odds Guaranteed earlier in the article but it’s worth mentioning again as it is one of the best features about betting online. When a bookmaker offers this, you can bet with confidence knowing you will get the best price.
Price Promise – At first glance it may seem that price promise and BOG are the same thing but there are slight differences. You will find price promise guarantees at many sports betting sites and it works pretty much the same as supermarket deals in which they say “We will not be beaten on price”. The site guarantees that none of the competition has better odds than they offer. Although this is a great promotion it should be noted that many of the sites only offer this promise on very selective races. Our advice, as in life, is to shop around and compare prices before you bet.
Free Horse Racing Bets – Sounds great doesn’t it? However, before you get too excited these bets normally come with one or two conditions! For example, many bookmakers will require you to place bets on previous races to be eligible for the free bet. You will also find many online bookies for will reward your victories with a free bet, for example, “back a winner at 4/1 or more and get a free bet”.
Enhanced Place Terms – As mentioned on this page, many sports bookmakers will enhance the number of places in which they will pay out for a “place” bet. This is likely to be for the big events in the horse racing calendar.
Pay-out on Disqualified Winners – On the face of it, this looks like madness but it’s true! Selected bookmakers will apply “first past the post is the winner” to all horse racing events in the UK and Ireland. No more sweating on a steward’s enquiry, if your pick hits the finish line first, you’re a winner. No ifs, no buts, great stuff!
Our Hints and Tips for Betting on Horses Online
- Shop around – The most generous deals you are ever likely to get are when you first open an account with a bookmaker. Personally, I have 5 or 6 accounts that I use regularly and will often use one for a certain sport and another for a different sport due to constant fluctuations in the market.
- Take advantage of the best odds guarantee – When possible, if you are going to back a particular horse then get that bet on as soon as possible. The early you bet on it, the more chance the odds will be higher. The BOG promotion will save you if the price of the horse starts to drift nearer the time of the off.
- Do your research – Horse racing is a statistical lover’s dream, hence why in a physical bookmakers you will often see men concentrating hard whilst reading the Racing Post. The form has a big part to play in picking winners but also the ‘going’ (condition of the ground) can have a big impact on the race as certain horses prefer certain conditions.
- Check the sites often – New and exciting promotions are released all the time, being a regular visitor can ensure you never miss out on some great deals.
- Never bet more than you can afford to lose. See gambling as entertainment and never chase losses. If you feel you do have a problem with gambling then seek professional help. The website at gambleaware.co.uk is listed on all sports betting sites and offers free, impartial advice.